Between Brothers: The Trouble with Love
by Rainey
Summary: A brokenhearted Rick and A.J. console each other over a bottle of Don D.


Title: Between Brothers: The Trouble with Love  
Author: Rainey  
E-Mail: crazylikecat@aol.com  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: A brokenhearted Rick and A.J. console each other over a bottle of Don D.  
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"You love her  
But she loves him  
And he loves somebody else  
You just can't win  
And so it goes  
'Til the day you die  
This thing called love  
It's gonna make you cry"  
- "Love Stinks"  
J. Geils Band  
  
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"Just say goodbye..."  
  
Just say goodbye. I could still hear her words ringing in my ears, still see her big, blue eyes glistening with tears, still feel her silky skin underneath my thumbs as I caressed her cheek one last time.  
  
Her name was Carol Brooks, and I would've married her tomorrow if she'd have me. Mighty strange words comin' from a man like me, a confirmed bachelor, a man who couldn't even commit to getting his boat out of his brother's yard, and more often than not spent the night curled up with a bottle of Tequila and a big, lovable mutt at my feet. And just what was I gonna do, I wondered, when my brother finally made an honest woman out of Liz. It was just a matter of time before A.J. popped the question. Once he had a wife to look after him, things between us were sure to change. He wasn't going to need his still-single big brother hovering over him all the time. Normally, that would've made me feel relieved.  
  
But this time, it was different. Carol was different. And I found myself fallin' so damn hard for her I didn't know what hit me. But it was breakin' all the rules, the least of which was that she was a client. As a rule, A.J. and I didn't mix business with pleasure, but you know what they say about rules. There's always an exception. And Carol was it. And it wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for one small complication. Carol hired us because she suspected her husband was having an affair. Yep, I said husband. Carol was a married woman with a young son. And although she had sadly admitted the marriage had been over for a long time, that didn't make me feel any less guilty about breakin' up a family. Still, she was so hard to resist, and when she looked up at me with such need in her eyes, I felt myself drownin' in them. Boy, was I in trouble.  
  
And I wasn't the only one. Her husband, Bill, was in trouble, too, but not the kind Carol had suspected. He was in a far worse kind of trouble. The guy was in deep, all right--in deep debt to a loan shark who just happened to be a gorgeous blonde. Now that was the kinda trouble that could get a guy killed. And it almost did, if A.J. and I hadn't gotten to him first.   
  
Every time I think back to that final confrontation at the construction site when I literally held Bill Brooks' life in my hands as he dangled over the edge of that skyscraper, I can't believe I actually thought about how convenient it would be for Carol and me if he were to simply slip from my sweaty grasp. But it was just a fleeting thought--a terrible one, I'll admit--and there's a mighty big difference between thinkin' something and actually doin' it, and I knew in my heart it was something I could never do, at least if I ever wanted to sleep at night.   
  
So, I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip and pulled him up to safety--and right back into the arms of his forgiving wife. As he knelt before her professing his undying love and how he needed her now more than ever, I didn't exactly need someone to draw me a picture. My time with Carol was over, maybe before it ever really began, and the only thing left for me to do now was to let her go. There was no future for us; there'd be no marriage, no sharin' the bathroom, no wakin' up to the same person every morning.   
  
And I had to admit, it hurt like hell.  
  
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I wasn't the only one whose heart was in pieces, and later on that night, I got the surprise of my life when I came home to find A.J. sittin' forlornly on the couch, an open bottle of Don Diablo on the coffee table. For a guy who normally wouldn't touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole, he was tossin' it back like it was kool-aid. This was serious. The poor kid looked like he just lost his best friend, and I wondered what was makin' him so miserable. I didn't know whether it was out of brotherly love or just misery in need of some company, but he'd had the good sense to have a drink all ready and waitin' for me on the table.   
  
"You got good timin', A.J." I said. "And right now, I could really use this." I flopped down on the couch next to him and picked up the glass.  
  
A.J. looked at me a moment, shotglass in hand. "I kinda figured. So, what happened with Carol?  
  
"She's back with Bill." With a weary sigh, I propped my feet up on the table, and took a swallow of Don D.   
  
"I'm sorry, Rick."  
  
"Yeah, well, you know, you win some and you lose some," I shrugged, forcing a half-hearted smile I didn't feel. "I sure know how to pick 'em, huh, A.J?"   
  
My brother just sat there starin' into space, his chin in his hand.  
  
"Gee, don't get all broken up over it, A.J." I frowned. "I'll be okay--"   
  
"She said no, Rick."   
  
My brother turned to me, his blue eyes filled with regret.   
  
"What?" I stared at him, confused. "Who said no--"  
  
I stopped, realizing full well who it was. Liz? Oh, damn it! The poor kid. I felt my heart sinking for him. It was one thing for me to feel lousy, but I could never stand to see my baby brother feelin' that way, too.  
  
"A.J. what happened?" I put my hand on his shoulder. "You did talk to Liz, didn't you?"  
  
"Oh, yeah, I talked to her." He sighed, and took a swig of his drink. "Told her that I loved her and that I was ready to make a commitment." A.J. paused, looking down into his glass.   
"And...she turned me down." He looked over at me. "She said I wasn't ready, that I'd never be ready..."  
  
"I'm sorry , A.J." I gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I really am." But I wasn't just sorry, I was angry, too. What in hell was wrong with her? A.J. had looks, he had brains, he owned his own home--he cooked, for Pete's sake! What more could any woman ask for? If I was a woman I'da married him!  
  
"Yeah, so am I." He said morosely. "Well, I guess we won't be needing to rent those tuxes, huh?"  
  
"Ah...well," I sighed, "I never could stand havin' to wear those monkey suits anyway."  
  
A.J. raised his glass. "I'll drink to that."  
  
"Me, too."   
  
We clinked our glasses together and took a hearty gulp. Then I poured us some more Don D.  
  
I looked at my brother seriously. "Y'know what the trouble with love is, A.J.?"  
  
"No," he sighed dejectedly, "but I guess you're gonna tell me."   
  
"It stinks. Love stinks."  
  
A.J. shrugged. "I'll drink to that."  
  
"Me, too." We brought our glasses together again. "Y'know, kid, marriage is a very overrated thing anyway. I mean, what's so great about goin' to bed and wakin' up with the same person...every day...day in and day out."  
  
"Or having a home-cooked meal waiting for you..." A.J. said softly. "Yeah, who needs it, huh?"  
  
"I'll drink to that." We said in unison, and raised our glasses once again.  
  
Pretty soon we were toastin' just about everything and feelin' no pain, and I was breakin' open that extra case of good ol' Don D. that I had stashed away in one of the kitchen cabinets. Heck, we still had lots more to drink to and all the time in the world to do it.  
  
"H-hey, R-Rick," A.J. giggled, swigging back another shot, "here's t-to...leavin' the cap... off the...toilet bowl...and squeezin' the...toothpaste w-with the...seat up." Shakily, he raised his glass, barely able to hold it up. Between what he'd just said and the idiotic grin on his face, I burst into such a fit of hysterical laughter I nearly rolled off the couch.  
  
"A.J., t-thas...the f-funniest thing I...ever...heard." I was laughin' so hard there were tears streamin' down my face. Not to be outdone, I raised my glass. "Here's to...w-washin' my socks i-in the...kitchen sink."  
  
My little brother nodded, his shoulders shakin' as he sat laughing helplessly.   
  
"We'll d-drink to...that!" We both cried out, nearly knockin' each other off the couch in an exuberant toast. We both tossed back a healthy gulp, and I poured us a refill, tryin' hard not to get most it on A.J.'s couch. Under normal circumstances, he'd have had a fit! But by now we were so pissed drunk we couldn't see straight anyway.  
  
"Well, look at this way, kid, " I sighed. "At least, you'll always have me."  
  
A.J. put down his glass and started to moan. "Ohhh...you hadda remind me!"? Still moaning, he slumped over and laid his head against the armrest of the couch.   
  
For a few moments he was silent, and just when I thought my brother had passed out, he raised his head and looked over at me.  
  
"Y'know what, Rick? He smiled.  
  
"No, what, A.J."  
  
"I'll drink to that."  
  
  
End.  
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